Reviewing Revised State Plans

Meeting the Highly Qualified Teacher (HQT) Goal

State: NEW MEXICO

Date: July 26, 2006

Peer Review Panel’s Consensus Determination:

__X__ The plan is acceptable

_____ The plan has the deficiencies described below.

Comments to support determination:

- Overall, this is an excellent plan with an exemplary use of data.

- In requirement area 6, the process for developing the equity plan needs to be
completed.

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Requirement 1: The revised plan must provide a detailed analysis of the core
academic subject classes in the State that are currently not being taught by highly
qualified teachers. The analysis must, in particular, address schools that are not
making adequate yearly progress and whether or not these schools have more acute
needs than do other schools in attracting highly qualified teachers. The analysis
must also identify the districts and schools around the State where significant
numbers of teachers do not meet HQT standards, and examine whether or not there
are particular hard-to-staff courses frequently taught by non-highly qualified
teachers.

Y/N/U/NA Evidence
Does the revised plan include an analysis of classes taught by
Y teachers who are not highly qualified? Is the analysis based on
accurate classroom level data?
Does the analysis focus on the staffing needs of school that are not
Y making AYP? Do these schools have high percentages of classes
taught by teachers who are not highly qualified?
Does the analysis identify particular groups of teachers to which the
Y State’s plan must pay particular attention, such as special education
teachers, mathematics or science teachers, or multi-subject teachers
in rural schools?
Does the analysis identify districts and schools around the State
Y where significant numbers of teachers do not meet HQT standards?
Does the analysis identify particular courses that are often taught by
Y non-highly qualified teachers?
Y=Yes; N=No; U=Undecided; NA=Not applicable

Finding:

_X_ Requirement 1 has been met

___ Requirement 1 has been partially met
___ Requirement 1 has not been met
___ Additional information needed to make determination
_______ Date Requested ______ Submission Deadline

Supporting Narrative:

- There is an excellent disaggregation, presentation and analysis of data.

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Requirement 2: The revised plan must provide information on HQT status in each
LEA and the steps the SEA will take to ensure that each LEA has plans in place to
assist teachers who are not highly qualified to attain HQT status as quickly as
possible.

Y/N/U Evidence
Does the plan identify LEAs that have not met annual measurable
Y objectives for HQT?
Does the plan include specific steps that will be taken by LEAs that
Y have not met annual measurable objectives?
Does the plan delineate specific steps the SEA will take to ensure
Y that all LEAs have plans in place to assist all non-HQ teachers to
become HQ as quickly as possible?
Y=Yes; N=No; U=Undecided

Finding:

_X_ Requirement 2 has been met

___ Requirement 2 has been partially met
___ Requirement 2 has not been met
___ Additional information needed to make determination
_______ Date Requested ______ Submission Deadline

Supporting Narrative:

- This state uses data to guide an improvement strategy that drills down to the
district, school, class and individual teacher. This is an exemplary approach.
- The links between the SEA and the LEAs are clear in terms of expectations,
milestones, communication and timelines.

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 Requirement 3: The revised plan must include information on the technical
assistance, programs, and services that the SEA will offer to assist LEAs in
successfully completing their HQT plans, particularly where large groups of
teachers are not highly qualified, and the resources the LEAs will use to meet
their HQT goals.

Y/N/U Evidence
Does the plan include a description of the technical assistance the
Y SEA will provide to assist LEAs in successfully carrying out their
HQT plans?
Does the plan indicate that the staffing and professional
Y development needs of schools that are not making AYP will be
given high priority?
Does the plan include a description of programs and services the
Y SEA will provide to assist teachers and LEAs in successfully
meeting HQT goals?
Does the plan specifically address the needs of any subgroups of
Y teachers identified in Requirement 1?
Does the plan include a description of how the State will use its
Y available funds (e.g., Title I, Part A; Title II, Part A, including the
portion that goes to the State agency for higher education; other
Federal and State funds, as appropriate) to address the needs of
teachers who are not highly qualified?
Does the plan for the use of available funds indicate that priority
Y will be given to the staffing and professional development needs of
schools that are not making AYP?
Y=Yes; N=No; U=Undecided

Finding:

_X__ Requirement 3 has been met

___ Requirement 3 has been partially met
___ Requirement 3 has not been met
___ Additional information needed to make determination
_______ Date Requested ______ Submission Deadline

Supporting Narrative:

- This section meets the letter of the requirements more than the spirit of the
requirements. How will the steps be taken? What are the deliverables, within
what timelines and what skill sets will be developed? How will quality be
ensured? How will success be measured?
- New Mexico states that “Title I and Title II funds will be used to support regional
trainings and monitoring.” Federal funds can easily be squandered. How will the

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funding support which specific actions and strategies, with what intended and
evaluated impact?

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Requirement 4: The revised plan must describe how the SEA will work with LEAs
that fail to reach the 100 percent HQT goal by the end of the 2006-07 school year.

Y/N/U Evidence
Does the plan indicate how the SEA will monitor LEA compliance
Y with the LEAs’ HQT plans described in Requirement 2 and hold
LEAs accountable for fulfilling their plans?
Does the plan show how technical assistance from the SEA to help
Y LEAs meet the 100 percent HQT goal will be targeted toward LEAs
and schools that are not making AYP?
Does the plan describe how the SEA will monitor whether LEAs
Y attain 100 percent HQT in each LEA and school:
• in the percentage of highly qualified teachers at each LEA and
school; and
• in the percentage of teachers who are receiving high-quality
professional development to enable such teachers to become
highly qualified and successful classroom teachers?
Consistent with ESEA §2141, does the plan include technical
Y assistance or corrective actions that the SEA will apply if LEAs fail
to meet HQT and AYP goals?
Y=Yes; N=No; U=Undecided

Finding:

_X__ Requirement 4 has been met

___ Requirement 4 has been partially met
___ Requirement 4 has not been met
___ Additional information needed to make determination
_______ Date Requested ______ Submission Deadline

Supporting Narrative:

- New Mexico provides a plan for this requirement, but it could be strengthened by
discussing how the TA will play out in a district and how the state will make sure
that the TA is having an impact.
- The TA/corrective action indicates that “the LEA will be required to develop an
improvement plan.” A lot can break down from this point onward. The state will
need to be vigilant in addressing the problem of a lack of implementation know-
how on the part of the LEAs.
- The SEA is doing a good job of providing data on an ongoing basis to the LEAs
on the progress of the districts in meeting annual measurable objectives.

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 - Requirement 5: The revised plan must explain how and when the SEA will
complete the HOUSSE process for teachers not new to the profession who
were hired prior to the end of the 2005-06 school year, and how the SEA will
discontinue the use of HOUSSE procedures for teachers hired after the end
of the 2005-06 school year (except for the situations described below).

Y/N/U Evidence
Does the plan describe how and when the SEA will complete the
Y HOUSSE process for all teachers not new to the profession who
were hired before the end of the 2005-06 school year?
Does the plan describe how the State will discontinue the use of
Y HOUSSE after the end of the 2005-06 school year, except in the
following situations:
o Multi-subject secondary teachers in rural schools who, if
HQ in one subject at the time of hire, may use HOUSSE to
demonstrate competence in additional subjects within three
years of the date of hire; or
o Multi-subject special education teachers who are new to the
profession, if HQ in language arts, mathematics, or science
at the time of hire, may use HOUSSE to demonstrate
competence in additional subjects within two years of the
date of hire.
Y=Yes; N=No; U=Undecided

Finding:

_X_ Requirement 5 has been met

___ Requirement 5 has been partially met
___ Requirement 5 has not been met
___ Additional information needed to make determination
_______ Date Requested ______ Submission Deadline

Supporting Narrative:

- While New Mexico provided some information on this requirement, there needs to be a
greater elaboration on how the state will proceed in this area.

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Requirement 6: The revised plan must include a copy of the State’s written “equity
plan” for ensuring that poor or minority children are not taught by inexperienced,
unqualified, or out-of-field teachers at higher rates than are other children.

Y/N/U Evidence
N Does the revised plan include a written equity plan?
Y Does the plan identify where inequities in teacher assignment exist?
Does the plan delineate specific strategies for addressing inequities
Y in teacher assignment?
Does the plan provide evidence for the probable success of the
N strategies it includes?
Does the plan indicate that the SEA will examine the issue of
Y equitable teacher assignment when it monitors LEAs, and how this
will be done?
Y=Yes; N=No; U=Undecided

Finding:

___ Requirement 6 has been met

_X_ Requirement 6 has been partially met
___ Requirement 6 has not been met
___ Additional information needed to make determination
_______ Date Requested ______ Submission Deadline

Supporting Narrative:

- The SEA states explicitly that it is in the process of developing the equity plan. It
has many pieces in place to move forward in this area: the inclusion of diverse
stakeholders in the plan’s development, the Title II monitoring tool, the 3-tiered
teacher licensure system and STARS (a lot is riding on STARS). That said,
according to this revised plan, the equity plan has not yet been developed in full.
- When this work takes place, the strategies presented in the revised state plan need
to be clearly tied to the inequities in teacher assignment.